Corporate governance

About: Corporate governance is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 118591 publications have been published within this topic receiving 2793582 citations.

Governance, administration and development: making the state work

Abstract: Development and Its Administration - Organizational Environments: Comparisons, Contrasts and Significance - The Policy Process: Political Decisions about Technical Matters - Bureaucracy: Obstructing or Facilitating Development? - Administrative Reform: The Continuing Search for Performance Improvement - Planning for Development: The Solution or the Problem? - Decentralization Within the State: Good Theory but Poor Practice? - Public Enterprise Reform: Private Sector Solutions - Beyond the Market, Beyond the State: The Rise of Non-Governmental Organizations - The International Environment: External Influences on Internal Issues - Conclusion: What Future for the Public Sector?

Audit culture and Illiberal Governance: Universities and the Politics of Accountability

Abstract: The economic imperatives of neoliberalism combined with the technologies of New Public Management have wrought profound changes in the organization of the workplace in many contemporary capitalist societies. Calculative practices including `performance indicators' and `benchmarking' are increasingly being used to measure and reform public sector organizations and improve the productivity and conduct of individuals across a range of professions. These processes have resulted in the development of an increasingly pervasive `audit culture', one that derives its legitimacy from its claims to enhance transparency and accountability. Drawing on examples from the UK, particularly the post-1990s' reform of universities, this article sets out to analyse the origins and spread of that audit culture and to theorize its implications for the construction of academic subjectivities. The questions I ask are: How are these technologies of audit refashioning the working environment and what effects do they have on behavio...

The Separation of Ownership and Control

Abstract: The separation of ownership and control refers to the phenomenon associated with publicly held business corporations in which the shareholders (the residual claimants) possess little or no direct control over management decisions. This separation is generally attributed to collective action problems associated with dispersed share ownership. The separation of ownership and control permits hierarchical decision making which, for some types of decisions, is superior to the market. The separation of ownership and control creates costs due to adverse selection and moral hazard. These costs are potentially mitigated by a number of mechanisms including business failure, the market for corporate control, the enforcement of fiduciary duties, corporate governance oversight, managerial financial incentives and institutional shareholder activism.

Board of directors leadership and structure: control and performance implications

Abstract: Research examining the association of corporate governance structures and firm performance has relied almost exclusively on the large-scale firm This may, however, be a limited forum for questions

Information technology and the board of directors.

Abstract: Ever since the Y2K scare, boards have grown increasingly nervous about corporate dependence on information technology. Since then, computer crashes, denial of service attacks, competitive pressures, and the need to automate compliance with government regulations have heightened board sensitivity to IT risk. Unfortunately, most boards remain largely in the dark when it comes to IT spending and strategy, despite the fact that corporate information assets can account for more than 50% of capital spending. A lack of board oversight for IT activities is dangerous, the authors say. It puts firms at risk in the same way that failing to audit their books would. Companies that have established board-level IT governance committees are better able to control IT project costs and carve out competitive advantage. But there is no one-size-fits-all model for board supervision of a company's IT operations. The correct approach depends on what strategic "mode" a company is in whether its operations are extremely dependent on IT or not, and whether or not it relies heavily on keeping up with the latest technologies. This article spells out the conditions under which boards need to change their level of involvement in IT decisions, explaining how members can recognize their firms' IT risks and decide whether they should pursue more aggressive IT governance. The authors delineate what an IT governance committee should look like in terms of charter, membership, duties, and overall agenda. They also offer recommendations for developing IT policies that take into account an organization's operational and strategic needs and suggest what to do when those needs change. Given the dizzying pace of change in the world of IT, boards can't afford to ignore the state of their IT systems and capabilities. Appropriate board governance can go a long way toward helping a company avoid unnecessary risk and improve its competitive position.